Reference to background art herein is not to be construed as an admission that such art constitutes common general knowledge in Australia or elsewhere.
The harvesting of fish from their natural environment or containment area is a complex process. One popular manner in which fish are harvested is to surround all of the fish with a net and then draw in the net, in a process often referred to as seining. Fish are then transferred from the net into a harvest system distribution tank. As discussed in U.S. Pat. No. 7,220,177, once the fish are in the harvest distribution tank, a water current is often used to entice the fish towards channels leading them to a stunning and/or bleeding device.
Inevitably some fish are delivered to the distribution tank in such a stressed, exhausted or disoriented state that they are unable to immediately regain their correct orientation. As such, they will enter the channels of the distribution tank and process station upside down (belly up).
This incorrect presentation to the process station can cause a number of problems. For example, if the process station includes a stunning machine, the fish will be ineffectively stunned on their underside, in the vicinity of their jaw or gills. Accordingly, this leads to further inspection and correction actions, increasing the cost of production. Furthermore, the quality of the fish may be downgraded with a subsequent loss of sales value.
In addition, if the stunning machine is fitted with a bleeding device, this will also result in a cut to the incorrect location of the fish (usually the head region), which may result in inadequate bleeding as well as an unsightly gash on the head of the fish. This will also cause the quality of the fish to be downgraded with a subsequent loss of sales value.
Alternatively, the process station may provide non-life terminating activities such as health treatments or grading. If however, the fish is presented in the incorrect orientation during these processes, this again leads to further inspection and correction actions increasing the cost of production.
Most stressed, exhausted or disoriented fish will recover and swim in the correct orientation given sufficient time.
It is an object of the invention to overcome or ameliorate one or more of the disadvantages or problems described above, or at least provide a useful alternative.
Other preferred objects of the present invention will become apparent from the following description.